Utilization of formic acid solutions in leaching reaction kinetics of natural magnesite ores

• Formic acid was used to leach out Mg from magnesite ore.
• Effect of some significant parameters was investigated.
• Kinetics data were analyzed using graphical and statistical methods.
• Leaching of magnesite with formic acid is chemically controlled.
• A kinetic model was developed to present the leaching kinetics.

In the present research work, dissolution kinetics of natural magnesite is carried out using formic acid as a leaching agent. The effect of various reaction parameters such as temperature, acidic solution concentration, particle size and liquid to solid ratio was studied regarding the leaching kinetics of natural magnesite. The findings show that the dissolution process is controlled by the chemical reaction (intrinsic) at the liquid-solid interface;1−1−x=1/359.41×101et−42078/RT.The apparent activation energy of the leaching process of magnesite with the formic acid was found to be 42.08 kJ mol− 1 over the reaction temperature range of 318 to 348 K.